City Love
by angellwings
Summary: Natella: Nate moves to New York City and Ella helps him learn his way around. Based on the John Mayer song "City Love."


**A/N:** Hey guys! So the Indie Camp Rock awards are starting up again. And I was asked to spread the word about nominations. They ask that you nominate authors and stories that you think deserve more notice than what they've got. So, I wouldn't nominate those stories out there that have 200 and some reviews. From what I understand the Indie CR Awards are for the underdogs and the unconventional pairings.

So check out the categories here and nominate here:

_indiecrawards(dot)wufoo(dot)com(slash)forms(slash)nominatons-for-the-indie-camp-rock-awards_

Or you can check out their website here:

_www(dot)wix(dot)com(slash)indiecrawards(slash)main_

Or you can get in touch with them on Twitter:

_www(dot)twitter(dot)com/indiecrawards_

**Go nominate away!** I have! I actually plan on doing some more nominating very soon!

Happy reading!

angellwings

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><p>City Love<p>

By angellwings

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><p>"<em>I never liked this apple much<br>It always seemed too big to touch  
>I can't remember how I found<br>My way before she came around…"_

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><p>Nate was not the biggest fan of New York City. He preferred L.A. or anywhere in New Jersey to New York City. It was crowded and he wasn't really sure where anything was not to mention every where he went in New York <em>someone<em> noticed him. Whether it was the paparazzi or just a tourist with a camera phone his every movement was an open book for the world to see. It was similar in L.A., but he knew his way around enough to avoid them.

He sighed as he started to unpack another box. He really wished he could have stayed in Los Angeles, but the studios with the technology he needed were in New York. A buzz sounded from his intercom by the door and he quickly answered it.

"Yes?"

"Mr. Gray, there's an Ella Pador here to see you."

He smiled slightly. He'd nearly forgotten Ella lived in New York. She obviously hadn't forgotten about him moving. Ella had been living in New York for years now. She had just started taking on her own clients as a stylist. She had a small studio and an even smaller clientele. Now that he remembered she was here he felt relieved. He did _know _someone who could help him figure things out. It might be nice to have someone around to help him unpack and learn his way around.

"Send her up," Nate said as he returned to his boxes and waited for the knock on his door.

A light rhythmic knock sounded on his door and he answered the door immediately.

"Hi, Ella."

She beamed at him. "Hi! I brought you a casserole. I figured you hadn't had much time to eat anything other than take out or fast food."

He took the dish from her and motioned her inside. "Thanks, come on in. I'm just unpacking a few things."

"I hope you don't mind that I came by. Mitchie mentioned you were unpacking today and I thought I would welcome you to the city. I know I wish there would have been someone here to welcome me," Ella told him as she joined him in the apartment and he shut the door behind her.

Nate took the casserole into the kitchen and she followed him. "Of course, I don't mind. I'm actually glad you came by. I'm not the biggest fan of New York City. I don't mind visiting, but I never imagined I would live here. And since you've _been_ living here I thought you might be able to help me get settled in?"

She nodded and smiled at him. "Sure, I can do that. No problem. Do you need any help unpacking?"

He shook his head. "Honestly, I want to take a break for a few hours. I'd _like_ to get out of here, but I don't want to draw attention. You know?"

Ella smiled in understanding. "I know."

"Anything you think we can go out and do while still being discrete?" Nate asked hopefully.

Ella quirked a brow at him and then stared at the floor thoughtfully. She looked back up at him after a moment. "I _may_ have something. Let me make a phone call."

He watched as she talked to someone on her phone. She grinned brightly at him as she hung up. "How do you feel about a Knicks game?"

His eyebrows rose. "Tonight's Knicks game? Isn't that…sold out?"

She shrugged. "To other people maybe, but not to someone with a client who has a private suite reserved."

He smirked at her. "What?"

"My client reserved a suite for tonight. She had a presentation to make and she was hoping to impress her potential clients afterward, _but_ they had to reschedule and now she needs three people to join her and her husband in the suite so they can keep their group number quota. You and I are three and four. Are you up for it?"

"Am I up for it?" Nate asked in surprise. "I'm _definitely_ up for it."

"I said no before because…well, I don't know much about basketball. Or really any sports at all. I was always more of a choir, theatre, and home economics girl in school," Ella admitted with a blush. "But I'm sure sports aren't really an issue for you."

Nate smiled warmly at her. "No worries. I'll explain it to you. Basketball's not really that difficult."

She nodded and chuckled. "I'd appreciate that. Maybe sometime we can go to a Yankees game and you can explain baseball to me too."

He laughed and nodded. "Sounds like a plan."

* * *

><p>And it was a plan. Nate was surprised at the connections Ella had. He had a few himself, but Ella's contacts liked her enough to give her random things on a regular basis. She always had some sort of gift card or free tickets to use. Not to mention she constantly received freebies from New York designers. Ella was more successful than he thought. She'd shown him all the shortcuts she knew, and how to make sure, in the event that he took a taxi, he wasn't ripped off by a cab driver. She'd even spent a week's worth of her free time tracking down a bar they could go to where no one would care that he was Nate Gray from Connect Three.<p>

He'd actually begun to like New York City. Ella had made it enjoyable.

They didn't even have to go _out_ for him to enjoy being there. He and Ella had established a movie night, and more often than not she fell asleep on his couch. Tonight he and Ella were headed out the bar they usually went to. He entered the bathroom to brush his teeth before he left pick up Ella and smiled softly at the extra toothbrush by his sink. She kept one around for their movie nights. Ella couldn't stand the feeling of unbrushed teeth. For the longest time when she fell asleep at his place she'd ranted about how disgusting unbrushed teeth made her feel. Finally, he'd told her just to keep one at his apartment. She would feel better and he wouldn't have to listen to her complain.

Nate brushed his teeth and walked into his closet to pick out a shirt. He pulled out a light blue button up shirt and smirked as he pulled it off the hanger. There was a long shiny black hair on the shoulder. He shook his head and chuckled. This was the shirt Ella had worn to sleep in the last time she was here. He thought she'd worn it home, but if she had she'd brought it back very quickly. He pulled the hair off of the shoulder and then slipped on the shirt. He glanced out at his terrace at the rain and groaned. Getting a cab was going to be near impossible now. There was a sudden urgent banging on his door and he rushed to answer it. He jerked the door open, and his eyes widened at the side of Ella on the other side.

She was drenched all the way through. She looked like she'd walked the numerous blocks between her apartment and his through the downpour.

He gently grabbed her arm and guided her inside. "Ella, you're soaking wet."

She wrapped her arms around herself and shivered. He could swear her teeth were chattering. "I—I…needed to talk to y—you."

Nate grabbed her hand and led her back to his bedroom and his closet. He handed her a pair of old sweatpants and a faded and ripped sweatshirt from the very back of his closet. "Change clothes first," He said. He then shoved her into his bathroom and shut the door.

She came out in the clothes he'd handed her with her hair wrapped in a towel and he smiled softly at her as he held his hand out for her wet clothes. She bit her bottom lip and handed them to him. He noticed her blush as he walked toward his laundry room, and couldn't help but wonder what she needed to talk about that had her so flustered. He threw her clothes in his dryer and then came back to find her sitting on his couch.

"Alright," Nate said as he sat down next to her. "What do you need to talk about?"

She glanced at him hesitantly before she spoke. "Something's happened."

His brow furrowed in concern and he grabbed one of her hands. "What's wrong? What happened? You can tell me, Ells."

She pulled her hand out of his and gulped. "I'm not sure how you'll react to this, though."

"Well," He said with a sigh as he stared at the hand she'd taken from his. "You'll never know unless you tell me."

She glanced at him thoughtfully before she took her hair out of the towel and ran it over her hair a few times. She took a deep breath and he nervously ran a hand through his curls.

"Ella, you're making me nervous. I'm thinking of worst case scenarios here."

She chuckled half heartedly. "I'm sorry. I promise it's not bad. It's just…well, I can't think of word to describe it."

"Then don't describe it," He told her. "Just tell me."

She folded the damp towel and then stood from his couch to place it on the back of one of the chairs in the kitchen. At this point, Nate almost wanted to shake her and make her tell him. She was driving him insane.

She stood at the back of his couch and leaned her hip against it as she met his eyes. "At some point, after you moved here, I…I fell in love with you."

His eyebrows flew upward and his mouth dropped open and he stared at her for a moment. Ella blushed and cleared her throat. She looked away from him and walked into his kitchen and plugged up his coffee maker.

"Nate, do you want some coffee? I think I do. Do you mind if I make some?"

He stared at her as if she were crazy. "Now? You want to make coffee _now_? Like everything's normal?"

"I don't expect you to feel the same, Nate. I just…I had to tell you. You can even pretend I didn't say it, if you want. I won't blame you," She said as her face took on a blank expression. "I simply needed to get it off my chest."

He joined her in the kitchen and watched her prepare the coffee. "You're sure you love me?"

"Nate, please don't let this make things awkward," Ella said as her blank expression gave way to a near tearful one. "I shouldn't have said anything."

"No," He told her as he took her hand again. "You should have. You were right to admit it, Ells. But…I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything," Ella told him as she pulled down two coffee mugs. "Just don't act like you don't know me anymore. I'm still Ella, and we're still friends. Promise. You like your coffee black with two sugars and a bit of cinnamon and honey, right?"

He stared at her. "You…you know how I like my coffee?"

"We have coffee together all the time, Nate. Of course I know. Do you know how I like my coffee?"

He thought about it for a minute and then smiled softly. "Three teaspoons of sugar and _lots_ of cream."

"See?" Ella said with a tiny smile. "It's not so odd for friends to know those things."

He shook his head. "No, Ella. You're wrong. It _is_ odd. A good odd, I mean. I don't even pay attention to how Jason and Shane like their coffee and they're my _brothers_."

Ella shrugged. "Does it really matter? It's just coffee."

"I'm a song writer, trust me, it's the little things that matter _the most_," He told her. His brow furrowed again. "You know, you are here an awful lot. You have a tooth brush here, and you steal my clothes."

"I don't _steal_ them. I borrow them. I always bring them back," Ella said defensively as they waited for the coffee to brew.

"Yes, and then they smell like you and have your hair on them and I—" Nate cut himself off and blushed.

Ella eyed him suspiciously with a smirk. "And you what?"

He looked down at the shirt he was currently wearing and then back at her. "And I usually like to wear them right after you return them."

She smiled warmly and hopefully. "You do?"

"For some reason it always puts me at ease," He admitted sheepishly.

"Nate," Ella said happily. "Really?"

He nodded slowly. "Really. God, Ella…you're—you're practically _living_ here."

She bit her bottom lip. "Is that bad? Cause I mean, I can hang out here less—"

"No, no it's not bad. I just…I didn't realize…Do you know what this means?"

Her brow furrowed. "No, I don't think I do. What _does_ it mean?"

"It means…I'm in love with you too," Nate told her with a confident smile. "I _love_ you."

Ella beamed at him. "What? But I thought…you've never really acted like—Are you certain?"

"If I wasn't it would have felt very wrong to say it, and it didn't. It didn't feel wrong at all. It felt…_true_," Nate told her with a reassuring smile and a nod. Ella launched herself at him and wrapped her arms around his neck tightly. He held her close and kissed her forehead softly. "Now what?"

She laughed softly and pulled back to look at him. "I don't know. I mean I guess…we take it a day at a time? I've never started a relationship based on a friendship before. I'm not sure how it works."

"Me neither," He told her as he cupped her cheek gently. "We'll figure it out, I guess."

She closed her eyes and leaned into his hand and when she opened them again she smiled affectionately at him. "The city's not so bad now, is it?"

He chuckled and shook his head. "No, I guess not."

She leaned up on her toes and placed a lingering but light kiss on his mouth. He smiled against her lips, and responded by slowly deepening the kiss. He pulled back and then pressed his forehead against hers.

"I think this is going to be fun," Nate said with a smirk.

Ella chuckled and shook her head at him. "You're a mess."

He quirked a brow at her. "Takes one to know one, Ells."

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><p>"…<em>I tell everyone<br>I smile just because  
>I've got a city love."<em>

_-John Mayer, "City Love"_


End file.
